Pembina

name, noun

name, noun ·3 syllables ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Squashberry, lowbush cranberry (Viburnum edule).
  2. 2
    A member of the Pembina Band of Chippewa Indians, a historical band of Chippewa (Ojibwe), originally living along the Red River of the North and its tributaries.
  3. 3
    One of the edible berries of this plant, from which jam may be produced.

    "And so, from that time, whenever a woman went out to gather June berries or wild cherries, or raspberries, or wild plums or pembinas or tipsin, or wild rice; or to their cultivated fields to gather corn or beans, she was not obliged to carry the load home."

Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A neighbourhood of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
  2. 2
    An unincorporated community in Christian County, Missouri, United States.
  3. 3
    A small city in Pembina County, North Dakota, United States, near the Canadian border.
  4. 4
    A river in Alberta, Canada.
  5. 5
    A river in Manitoba, Canada, and North Dakota, USA.

Example

More examples

"And so, from that time, whenever a woman went out to gather June berries or wild cherries, or raspberries, or wild plums or pembinas or tipsin, or wild rice; or to their cultivated fields to gather corn or beans, she was not obliged to carry the load home."

Etymology

Likely from Canadian French pembina, pimbina, from Cree nîpiminâna or Ojibwe niibiminaa, an earlier form of aniibimin (“high-bush cranberry”).

Related phrases

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.